Contact centers are generally known. Contact centers are typically used whenever an organization is required to handle large numbers of contacts with clients of the organization.
In order to handle the contacts, the organization may provide a corresponding number of agents conversant in the details of the organization. The organization may distribute the contacts to its agents using an automatic contact distributor.
Contacts with clients may be initiated through any of a number of different mediums. For example, a client may initiate a call through the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to the automatic contact distributor. Alternatively, the client may initiate a call to the organization in the form of an e-mail or instant message.
In addition, many organizations also provide websites to advance the interests of the organization. In addition to providing information about the organization, the website may also provide one or more contact windows that automatically connect a website visitor to an agent of the organization.
In general, contacts may be initiated by a client based upon some concern of the client or may be initiated by the organization in an effort to advance the agenda of the organization. Once delivered to the automatic contact distributor, contacts may be distributed to agents based upon any of a number of different criteria (e.g., longest available, highest skill, etc.).
While contact centers work well, occasionally there are not enough agents to handle the influx of calls. In this case, a client may receive a pre-recorded message instructing the client to leave his/her name and number so that agent may call back at a later time.
While this process is effective, it incurs additional expense for the organization. Accordingly, a need exists for less expensive ways of handling call backs.